26.05.2009
If Ianto had hoped that they'd turned a corner the day Alice and Steven visited, he'd been deeply mistaken. Over the last two weeks Jack's emotions had swung even further to extremes, until the whole team had started to notice. Even Owen. As loathe as he was to admit it, by the time his trip to the Liberty Towers conference rolled around he was actually glad to get away from the Hub and the apartment. They'd never lived together like this before for more than a few days. It would have been hard enough without Jack's hostile clinginess.
He did his best to push it to the back of his mind as he handed his pass over to be checked by one of the security guards, and was waved through into the private lounge. Ally leapt to her feet as soon as she saw him, greeting him with a tight hug and her phone pressed into his back between his shoulder blades. "Ianto, it's so good to have you back." She looked up at him, concerned and curious. "We've barely heard anything from you. Is everyone alright?"
"We're…" He pulled a face that probably said it all. "Yeah. Recovering, slowly. Jack is… Yeah."
"Oh, that doesn't sound good." They still had a while to go before their flight, so she grabbed his arm and steered him towards the buffet and a choice of either hot drinks, juice, or alcohol. She looked mildly alarmed but utterly unsurprised when he poured himself a whisky before he started making coffees. "So, spill the beans. What's the matter with Jack?"
He sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck whilst the coffee percolated. "He… What happened to him during the attack was… it was bad. Really bad. So bad he doesn't remember everything from before. And as much as I hope it's mostly the shit that's gone, he's forgotten bits of everything, and sometimes he does remember things but doesn't remember them right. And he's… I don't know if I measure up to what he thought I was. Or maybe that's unfair. It's hard to tell, because he doesn't talk to me!"
Ally patted his arm gently, then grabbed up his coffee and led him over to one of the tables. The room was starting to fill up with Kate Lethbridge Stewart's aides and security, and the woman herself was pacing at the far end, closest to the windows, engaged in a heated argument with someone about some theory of nuclear physics and spatial temporal relativity that Ianto didn't want to even try getting his head around and gesticulating pointedly with one hand. She had spared Ianto a short wave before returning to the debate, which Ianto was more than happy with under the circumstances. He breathed in the steam rising from the coffee and felt a little of his tension ease, not least because of the prospect of a week out of the country and with little to do stretched out in front of him.
At some point, he wasn't sure when, a meeting with the leaders of several top intelligence agencies to discuss the newly public knowledge of the existence of aliens and the bollocking he was inevitably going to get there had come to be filed under 'a quiet week' compared with spending time with the man he was going to marry. Probably.
"So," Ally said, when she decided he'd had enough quiet time with his coffee. "Want to tell me about it?"
"I don't know if I should," he admitted. "What happened to him, it's hard to put into words. I don't even know the full... Christ, Ally, he was buried alive. For a really, really long time." She'd gone very pale very quickly, and although she opened her mouth to speak she was clearly lost for words. "Yeah. And I don't know if there was more to it than that but... that's enough, isn't it? It must have been..." He hadn't really dared to think about it before, to consider just how long Jack must have been suffering and dying, over and over again. "It must have been centuries," he said at last. "But you hope... hope that eventually, he just stayed dead until he was rescued."
She nodded slowly. "Did you find him?"
"No. Torchwood found him, during the First World War when he was serving in Europe. He had them lock him away in the morgue, thinking that he could get out on the day and prevent it, or at least help. In the end, he got lost down there in the darkness." A shiver ran through him, along with the now familiar acid bite of nausea, and he took a mouthful of too hot coffee to fight them both back. "I don't know how he's still functioning, I really don't."
Her brow crinkled with concern. "Is he functioning? You said he isn't talking to you, so..."
"At work he's fine, absolutely fine. Gets on with the job, acts like nothing has happened. He spends a lot of time in the archives, trying to fill in gaps in his memory. It's actually been good for all of us, we've found a lot more links and connections than we knew about before. But as a person... No, I suppose he isn't. He..." He ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know if he knows what he wants. He clung to the memories of us so tightly, but we're not the people he remembers. I'm definitely not. He sees me as this idealised hero who saved him from the darkness and always knows what to do, and that's a load of bollocks. I have no idea what I'm doing or how to help either of us."
She reached over and rested her hand on his arm again. "What do you want? You can't know how to get there until you know what you want."
"I want it not to have happened. I want to be able to say that we were better than we were, that we managed to prevent it. But what can you do in the face of time travel?" When he glanced up at her, the frown he'd expected was firmly in place. "Oh, you mean something possible?" He swallowed hard around the lump in his throat, and his voice came out cracked. "I want Jack back."
# # #
The conference was held in Nevada, in a town that bore the optimistic name of "Angle City". Ianto had looked at it on a map and not been able to find a single building or feature of interest for miles around, save for the nearby mountain of Mormon Peak. It had gone straight on his list of 'places not to go on holiday' at somewhere near the top, close behind Mars and Newport. On the ground, of course, things were a little different. The big American SUV that had brought them north from Las Vegas turned off the road at spot marked only by the rough track leading away from it into the desert and bumped and crawled its way across the desert between the Joshua Trees and towards the towering mountains in the distance. The sun was high in the clear blue sky, lighting up the bands of red and gold sandstone in the mountains in vivid colours compared with the grey brown dust of the desert around them. A lone bird wheeled overhead, some sort of vulture or buzzard at a guess, but apart from that and the scrubs there was no sign of life anywhere near. Even Ally had fallen quiet as she stared out of the window with wide eyes, the vast scale of the emptiness dwarfing them so completely that neither of them could find words for it.
Their driver was equally taciturn, but the Liberty Towers soldier with them, clearly familiar with the road and the desert, seemed almost bored by it. He saw their awe-struck faces and grinned. "Big place the Nevada desert. There's pretty much nothing out here but mountains, Joshua Trees, rocks and us, just the way we like it. Keep going that way and you end up in Utah, and if you keep going a few hours further on you'll finally hit civilisation. Or as we like to call it, Canada."
Ianto snorted. "You're not a local then?"
"Not me. Got transferred down here after three years in New York. Still haven't worked out what I did to piss someone off that bad." He grinned back at Ianto and cocked his finger out of the window. "Reckon I'm safer out here, though. No one's gonna find us that we don't want finding us."
"Not even Amazon."
He chuckled. "Not even them. Any idea why you're all the way out here instead of at one of the main offices? New York's a heck of a lot closer and prettier."
"Well, I don't think they've decided how much I've pissed them off yet with that whole telling the world we exist thing." He leaned his head against the window and tried to ignore the rumbling vibrations. "You know how it is."
"It would be a good place to make someone disappear," Ally said in a cheerful and completely not reassuring way. "I mean, if you got lost out here, they might never find the body."
He opened one eye to glare at her. "Have you any idea how far from helpful that is?"
"If it's any consolation, all the big guns are here. Lots of UNIT top brass as well as Liberty Towers. They're all starting to merge into one these days." Outside the SUV, the track had started climbing into the foothills of the mountains. Large boulders lay at perilous angles not far from the road, and it actually had to swerve around one that must have blocked it off when it fell. The sandstone above them had just crumbled, leaving a slope of fine sand rather than a scree slope, and every time the wind picked up it blew clouds of super fine dust across the windows. The shrubs had a harder time getting a foothold in this shifting landscape, but a line of them weaving up the valley showed where the river ran in times of flood. There was still no sign of human habitation beyond the dusty track, but their guide was looking more cheerful. "We're nearly there now."
There, it turned out, was something out of a Bond movie. A proper supervillain's lair, carved out of the caves in the bottom of the mountains. The road carried on rising up to the crest of the hill and then dropped rapidly into another valley. Rather than rising up the opposite side and into the mountains, though, it carried on down into a dark maw underneath a broad stone ledge. Here the layers of stone had been disturbed at some point over the millions of years since they were laid down, so the band of darker and harder red stone jutted up at an angle, allowing the soft yellow stone above and below it to be carved away by wind and water and then by man. As they went deeper, the deliberate carving of the caves became more obvious as soft sandstone gave way to concrete and steel, electric lighting casting an eerie cold glow over the flat greys to replace the sunshine over golden sand. Soldiers in UNIT and Liberty Towers uniforms snapped to attention as they pulled into a parking space at the nearer end of a vast hangar, and remained so when Ianto got out of the car and acknowledged them. "Director Jones, sir," the leader barked. "Welcome to Angel City."
The pieces slotted into place, a little belatedly but not too late. Liberty Towers had been founded by a group of New Yorkers who had crossed paths with the Doctor during the 1920s. Amelia and Rory Williams, who Ianto was keeping half an eye on as they grew up safe and sound in Leadworth in Glouchestershire, had been left behind somehow much like Jack had, and had joined forced with Lazlow and Tallulah Carnes. Jack had been in and out for a while, as had the elusive River Song. Their scrappy group of do-gooders had grown to over two hundred people spread across every state, run out of offices and warehouses and spare bedrooms, and had run more by luck than judgement. And then, in the nineteen sixties, everything changed. Just as UNIT was being formed in the UK and spreading across the UK, President Richard Nixon took an interest in extraterrestrial threats in the USA. No one could say quite what had sparked it, but within two years Liberty Towers was a fully fledged government agency with a budget to match. No matter its size, though, it had never forgotten where it started - with a dancer in angel wings looking for her missing lover, and a woman sent back in time by an angel to find hers.
# # #
Angel City was bustling with researchers and security services scuttling around and trying to look busy under the watchful eye of senior staff from every branch of extraterrestrial intelligence on the planet. Wide, sweeping corridors led from one cavernous hall to another, with doors and passageways branching off frequently into new departments. Ianto and Ally's guide gestured to a few of them as they walked. "Angel City is a bit of everything, really. If America falls, this is where she falls back to. We've got everything here. Weapons stores and space to house an army of fifteen hundred, research labs that have produced some of the biggest technological leaps of the last decade, medical facilities big enough to treat all fifteen hundred soldiers plus civilian refugees, and in the upper levels of the mountain we could house a community of ten thousand refugees. The records indicate that even the Master never managed to take this place, and it's been built to withstand a Dalek attack for up to twenty four hours."
"Twenty four hours isn't very long," Ally pointed out.
"It is against the Daleks," Ianto said. Sometimes he forgot how much younger than him Ally was, and how much less she'd seen. And then sometimes she came out with things like that, and he could only hope that she stayed that way. "If the Doctor hasn't dealt with them within the first twenty four hours, it's pretty much over. I suppose the biggest problem you'd have would be getting the civilians out here. It's not exactly convenient for anywhere."
Their guide chuckled. "You've got a point there. It is more of a fall-back location. In the event of a catastrophic attack, survivors are instructed to fall back to here and a few other bases like it with as many refugees as they can bring. It would fill up gradually, rather than in the face of an assault. And before you ask, no, we don't have a plan to get the president here first. This place is for a lot further down that line."
It was a good, sensible plan. Some of the rooms Ianto had passed had been full of row upon row of hydroponic stations growing everything from tomatoes to what looked like canabis. Signs on the walls pointed to dry and cold food storage areas, and another to hardware and homewares. It was a whole city under a mountain. "How long would it take to get this place from a military facility to a living city?"
Their guide shrugged and pointed to the next door. "Gym with three swimming pools, basketball court and two tennis courts. We reckon it would take about a week for the first refugees to start arriving. We'd have it ready by the time they got here. Military capacity would move out to the subsidiary site to avoid drawing attention to the civilian population and clear more space to house them. A lot of the space here is mothballed, ready for an attack. There's even space set aside for a school and facilities for teaching from kindergarten right up to college level. And a multi-faith worship space that's actually got a window facing towards Mecca. It's the little things that make the difference when the world is ending, you know?"
"It certainly is. Plenty of coffee in stock?"
"Oh yes. And a small dairy herd. You got one of these in the UK?"
Ianto shook his head. "No, but give me a week. It's this sort of thing that we should be sharing with each other more, although I realise that we don't want to commit it to any sort of network. Are you pretty well off-grid here?"
"Solar panels out in the desert, information comes in over the radio or by fax." He sighed. "I can't pretend I don't miss the internet, but you get used to it. Things have moved on so much since I was out there in the real world, it would probably be a lot harder for someone to come in here now. There's guys been working here since the nineties, though, started families here and everything. They're like the Amish."
"Oh, there's a whole new world out there," Ally told him.
"Has MySpace taken over the world yet?"
She snorted. "MySpace is in the past. Facebook is the new kid on the block. No embedded music, no funky HTML. And then there's Twitter! So many cat photos, it's amazing."
After five minutes of walking, they finally seemed to have reached their destination. Buried deep in the heart of the complex a pair of overly grand double doors opened onto the upper level of a vast ampitheatre carved into the sandstone. It had been built with the refugee population in mind, by the looks of it, and the few officials seated down on the front rows were dwarfed by the empty seats that stretched back to where Ianto and Ally were standing. They turned to look at the new arrivals, and several raised hands in greeting whilst a few others just scowled. Ianto glanced over at Ally and tried to hide his nerves. "Well, seems like they're ready for us."
"Yes, sir. Stairs are over there," their guide pointed. "I'll be waiting here to take you to your accommodation at the end of the prelimiary meeting."
Ianto thanked him, realising that it was far too late by that point to ask his name, and jogged down the long flight of steps to the cluster of officials at the foot of the stage. There were more familiar faces here, and he greeted Dr Bernard with a particularly warm smile. "I didn't realise you were going to be here, Doctor," he said, greeting her with a kiss to the cheek. "We could have flown over together."
"Ah, I was already in the area on work. There's an interesting site been discovered in the Guatemalan rainforest. I'll fill you in on all the details over dinner," she promised. Her eyes sparkled with mischief, and she offered her hand to Ally. "You must be Analyn. I read your report on the influence of the Silurians on neolithic human settlements in the south of Europe. Fascinating work."
"Thank you, Doctor Bernard. I can't pretend to be an expert, but I'd love to work with someone who is."
The Doctor laughed. "Well, maybe later ma cherie." She'd taken command of proceedings, by the looks of things, and proceeded to introduce Ally and Ianto to the other officials gathered around them. Everyone who was anyone was there, including Canton Everett Delaware III. When Liberty Towers persuaded him out of retirement, you knew it was a big deal.
He smiled at Ianto warmly, and with the sense of familiarity that came from being the undisputed patriarch of the North American extraterrestrial intelligence community. Having travelled with the Doctor did lend one a certain gravitas and respect. It was the same with the Brigadier, who would always be simply The Brigadier no matter how many others held the title after him, and even Jack. People stopped to watch them pass, and when the three of them got drinking at a conference people hovered close to hear their stories but wouldn't dare to interrupt.
"Ianto, good to see you again. How's Jack?"
He managed to hide the grimace. "Busy as ever. How's David?"
"Oh, same as ever. Ready for the wedding of the century?"
Ianto snorted. "I wish. Things get in the way, don't they?"
"Peril of the job." He settled down and indicated the vacant seat next to him for Ianto. Everyone else correctly identified that as their cue, and what had been a bristling and borderline hostile atmosphere settled down into a more curious and amicable one. For now, at least. "So, it's all out there."
He shrugged one shoulder. "It's hardly all out there. We went public with a carefully chosen selection of events that were considered palatable to the British and global public. Where we go from there... well, I'm hoping it opens up more options rather than tying our hands."
"People will assume everything is aliens," a tall, think rake of a man with a heavy Latino accent snapped. "As if they do not already blame aliens for everything."
"Actually, they normally blame each other. I don't want to see yet another surge in racist hate crimes because of the actions of one man, especially when that man is me." Ianto glared him down, chanelling Rhiannon as well as he could. "I know my city, and I know what would happen. Unfortunately, we have stirred up a frenzy of distrust."
"I don't really see the benefit of secrecy any more anyway," Canton said. If anyone else had had anything to say, it was forgotten. "Back in my day, fine, you could get away with it. No one remembers the Silence after all, and you could cover it all up pretty easily. But now? All this new technology, the message boards and MySpace and whatever. You know, my niece lives in Australia, and she hears all about this stuff as soon as it happens. The world is a lot smaller now. We can't lean on the TV companies to keep our secrets when it's being streamed live from someone's phone."
Doctor Bernard leaned in eagerly. "Absolutely right. And that is only going to get worse, or better depending on your point of view. In such a short space of time we have gone from photography being a slow cumbersome hobby, requiring patience and investment, to a camera being just part of a phone. I mean, look at it!" She fished an iPhone out of her pocket and held it out on the palm of her hand. "We have had technology like this for many years, and in all that time we never planned for it becoming widespread. And now we are on the back foot, scrambling to deal with the implications of our foolishness. I could film this meeting and upload it straight onto the internet, and if enough people saw it the game would be up!"
"Yes," Ianto murmured. "Are you supposed to have that in here?"
"It is switched off," she assured him, "and for an illustration, a proof of the point you made. This is early days! Imagine what we will soon be capable of. We will soon find out about invasions from Twitter!"
"I think we're all in agreement that the announcement was necessary," Canton said. "What we have to ask ourselves is what we do now."
There was an uncomfortable moment as those who were not in agreement realised that they would have to get in agreement quickly. At the same time a thrill ran through Ianto, like the pieces falling into place very suddenly. It was a surge of adrenaline that threw the world into sharp relief, possibilities and challenges standing out starkly and plans lighting up like the Las Vegas skyline. "If I may make a suggestion," he said, and felt the world stretch out in front of him, "there are several areas for us to approach."
# # #
The preliminary meeting rushed by, and from it there emerged an agenda for change over the whole world, and, more importantly, an agenda for three days' worth of meetings from which the change plan would emerge. Ianto came out of it with more spring in his step than he'd felt for days, and a feeling of genuine optimism that was a refreshing relief from the constant rush of reactionary recovery that had dominated Cardiff. At his side, Ally clutched her sheets of notes to her chest and drummed her fingers against them. "We'll need to search for suitable sites," she said, "and establish evacuation plans. And we need to make sure that the focus doesn't land on London and stay there like it usually does. London is usually the target of any attack, and recovery there will be harder. Places like Birmingham and Manchester, though. I mean, even we try not to go to Birmingham."
"Well, you're going to have to get the hang of a fax machine, aren't you?" Ianto suggested. He saw Dr Bernard down the corridor and reached out to grab Ally's arm. "You go and get settled into our accommodation and prepare for this afternoon's meetings. I'm going to get a word with the good doctor."
"Alright," she laughed up at him, "I can see when you've got an idea in your head, and I won't stand in your way. Shall I see you at the meeting?"
"Don't know yet." He left her and their guide to head off to wherever the guests were being housed, and took the seat that Doctor Bernard offered him. Rather than head back to her rooms, she had found a table tucked away in a corner and was holding court there, with her prosthetic leg lying right across the middle of it. Ianto studied it as he approached. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Doctor, but I don't think that's NHS issue."
She chuckled and reached over to pick it up. "Call me Perdita, Ianto. You're right, though. A gift from the Doctor. His bloody fault I needed one, after all. It was a long time ago, probably before you were born. He was a different person back then, but weren't we all?"
"Ah, well that answers one question, and raises another. You called this meeting, Perdita. Are we chosen specifically?"
"I don't know what you're suggesting, cherie. Why, I would never be so underhand as to select this meeting from companions of the Doctor and those close to them. And the fact that Doctor Jones and Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart are joining us this afternoon is pure coincidence, I assure you." Her eyes sparkled again, and Ianto knew what the Doctor had seen in her. "You haven't travelled with him yourself?"
"No, and I think it's safest kept that way. Someone has to rein him in, after all. I've seen what he can do to those he leaves behind."
She hummed her agreement. "I think you scare him a little. But as you say, someone has to."